HP iPAQ 310

Feb

15

2008

Does this describe you? You’ve just purchased the latest in consumer electronics. You take the product out of the box and head for the Preferences screen to make sure everything is set precisely to your liking. Then you head to the Discussion Forums to see what kind of customizations you might have missed. You love eye candy, the latest features, and don’t mind spending some time getting to know the device.

If that sounds like you, the iPAQ 310 from HP could be your next GPS. It was one of the first GPS devices to offer an 800×480 pixel display, and the graphics showing actual representations of buildings in 3D (in select cities) will leave your jaw dropping at how “real” the on screen image looks. Full of routing preferences, graphics settings, and other customizations this iPAQ can be configured to your needs. But new users beware, all of those fancy features and customizations come at a cost– this is one of the more difficult GPS devices to learn, and a few incorrect settings can result in some pretty bizarre routes. But if you want the screen on the GPS to look as close as possible to the view out the windshield, find yourself a good deal on the iPAQ 310.

289 Responses

Given that HP has not yet released optional maps, there is no question that the TT is the better option. Right off the bat you get North America and all Europe (except Greece), all included for the price. You also have an option for Traffic available now, for HP it is still to come.

However, the HP maps in cities is far better for viewing purposes and is the better pedestrian option.

HP has the better screen and battery life is about the same, though the HP gives the option of swapping batteries.

In summary, TT is better working option at the moment. HP has better potential.

infama - April 5th, 2008

Infama, Hi,your response is much appreciated.However,cities maps and pedestrian option are high on my list.The availability of maps for the rest of Europe is bound to be provided in the future by HP ( at the moment western Europe is a must).So I am going to give HP one more chance, if the forthcoming updates do not solve the outstanding problems then I shall go for the TT.Many thanks.

Sam - April 8th, 2008

Hi Sam,

Given your needs, you may want to try to get the 310 (cheap from Amazon US) and then buy the full Europe SD card when it comes out in 2-3 weeks, according to my HP source. The 314 only has Western Europe.

Alternatively, you can get the 314 and buy Eastern Europe maps, but that costs 3/4ths the price of full Europe.

The iPaq is a great Ped device, as it has a screen lock, disable snap to road feature, great 3D maps of city centers (big cities) and swappable batteries.

infama - April 8th, 2008

Anyone using an external antenna? is the connector mcx or mmcx, all other ipaqs are mmcx but the only reference I could find for the 312 was mcx?

Havent seen any further firmware updates for here, mine has some weird ideas on how to get places after the first one, but not discounting user error at this stage …

Robbo - April 9th, 2008

mmcx … found it. Same as all other ipaq’s with gps and external antenna.

Robbo - April 9th, 2008

Firmware update for US and Europe available now, but DLing slowly! I imagine everyone jumped on at the same time. You are forced to DL the new Content Manager version first.

Not sure about Asia! Give it a try.

infama - April 10th, 2008

Has anyone installed an Enhanced POI set, such as Starbucks Coffee chain for USA and Canada. Also does the HP Ipaq 310 display the altitude on the navigation screen?

Ted Cameron - April 10th, 2008

Elevation is shown only on the satellite screen. Some people claim that elevation is always overestimated by +48 meters on the HP.

What is an enhanced POI set?

The HP has 12m POIs installed, so not sure if you need any more.

infama - April 10th, 2008

Got the new content manager, and a couple of voice updates, but thats it, no new firmware.

One good thing is the content manager now has a proxy option (web proxies being such a new innovation and that, good to see the developers are right on the bleeding edge with this innovation!!! ) though sadly its a manual configuration (it doesn’t derive its proxy config from internet exploder, I guess this could be good or bad)

Robbo - April 10th, 2008

Thanks for the ‘elevation’ clarification infama. I haven’t purchased an HP Ipaq 310 yet but am in the market for a GPS. On the Magellan and Garmin you can download POI files from various web sites, then transfer them to your GPS. I used the example of Starbucks, but there are many others. The installed POI’s on GPSs are usually two or three years old, as are the maps. The POI files you download are current.

Ted Cameron - April 10th, 2008

Ted,

A reviewer at Amazon claimed his 9 month old business was in the HP POI list.

The maps are dated July 2007, TeleAtlas.

infama - April 11th, 2008

Tim,

How do you turn on the full screen mode on the ipaq 310

Mike Olele - April 11th, 2008

Tap the nav screen anywhere but on the arrow. This will cause semi-transparent icons to appear on the left and right.

The one you want is the 2nd from top on the left (indicative of expanding the screen outwards). Tap that an get to full screen. Yu do the same to get back to the reduced screen, only this time the icon indicates a screen shrinking.

infama - April 12th, 2008

I just got a 310 a little over a week ago. The maps for Canada are quite lacking; although they did have one new road that the Garmin didn’t have. …as compared the thousands of back roads that the Garmin (Navteq) has which Teleatlas maps don’t. The only reason I’m holding onto the 310 is because of the strong feature set and amazing display. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that Teleatlas will at some point take Canada seriously; by there maps it appears that we rank somewhere between the Sahara and the moon. …as was reinforced by a tech. chat with HP staff. (By the way it was very easy to get a hold of HP online support.)

The latest firmware update “bricked” my 310.
I just exchanged it today for a new one, updated the firmware and Canada content and it would no longer boot. Luckily the unit would still connect to the content manager. So I’ll try a full update and see if that fixes the problem, hopefully it was an old content/new firmware incompatibility. The reason I tried to shortcut the update with just the firmware and content of interest was due to the ridiculous update time. The content manager itself appears to hang for a half a minute every, oh, say, half a minute! The content comes of the internet at rates no better than dial up with a fast modem. By selecting only 200 or so megs of the update it only took it 3 hours, rather than an extrapolated 21 hours on the full 1.4Gigs, but now I guess I have no choice.
I hope this works, I only have a 15 day return period. If I have to do a recovery and then re-update that 15 days might not be enough time!
…I guess on that note, I should ask if anybody knows how to launch the content manager without the iPAQ plugged in, so that I can download the content in the back ground without having to tie up my laptop for a full day.

Mike, tap the left side of the screen. A box should appear with 4 arrows pointing to the corners. That’s the full screen button.

ps. doing a full update in the back ground right now, drum role please … 45min = 3% …woohooo, only another 25 hours to go at this rate.

Tony - April 12th, 2008

I am a ACO and I need a gps that can handle multiple stops and be able to add a stop anytime. Would this be a good system for me or could you recommend a better one??

Mary - April 12th, 2008

Firmware Update Progress Report:

It’s now 6 hours since initiating the firmware update. It appears that the download rate has picked up the pace from when I started. It has now completed 390 megs of 1160 to place me at 33% and a blistering 65MB/hr = 1.08MB/min = 18kB/s!

At this rate the update will only have taken a total of 18 hours. In that time I could have watched 12 feature length movies, or driven from Calgary to Las Vegas, or read a large novel. … on that note, it’s frightening to think that an audio book of about 18 hour length is about 400MB, at that rate 3 people could dictate the update to the device faster than HP’s download center. (okay, I know that’s not a valid comparison, but it is a funny thought.)

Tony - April 12th, 2008

@Tony – The firmware upgrade bricked by 310 too – it’s back with HP and hopefully they’ll send be back either the same unit or a swap already updated 😉 As for your comments regarding the amount of time required to do the upgrade, ridiculous, isn’t it. I’ve always been a fervent supporter of the 310, and I guess I still am … but I have to admit that my enthusiasm has taken a beating over the last month or so. While I was first out the gate to recommend this unit in the past, I am much more reserved in my comments now. This is not about bashing HP, this is just about stating the facts. Ten, twelve and fifteen hours to do a firmware upgrade, if you’re lucky enough to survive it, is utterly ridiculous; and HP should have thought of a better way to implement this.

Uncle Ben - April 13th, 2008

Still haven’t seen the upgrade for the 312 here! hopefully they’ll pull the update and actually test it first. As for bagging HP, well it seems people could hardly be blamed …

Robbo - April 13th, 2008

Well some kind of update has arrived – 30 minutes ago I commenced the download and its achieved a whopping 6MB so far – only 661MB to go. (47 of 706 files). Glad I have an 8Mb connection! I guess HP are using a dial-up modem at their end …

Robbo - April 13th, 2008

Given up for the time being, its too slow and the content manager has crashed 3 times now.

Did some digging, seems the first thing the content manager does is check in with register.navngo.com and does some kind of exchange to validate. register.navngo.com then responds with the specific URL for the update which in the cases I observed was http://www.ipaq.com/updates/15/080328 – the content manager then retrieves ‘contents.bin’ from this URL which probably contains the list of updates and a corresponding list of files to retrieve for each update. In my case this host was 134.44.176.75 which PTR’d back to idamobsrv12.fra.omc.hp.com – a whopping 24 hops and over 1000ms RTT from me! (somewhere in France it would seem – http://www.ipaq.com always seems to resolve by CNAME to that, so nothing smart happening with their DNS). Once you have the list, if you select something for update it then retrieves it from the same update URL as another .bin file (8 digit number dot bin).

Whether this is a single server or a group of servers sitting behind some kind of load balancer is hard to say, but something in the last hop or two costs the connection between an extra 700-1200ms in round trip time, so theres an issue there to start. Then theres the fact that France isn’t the smartest place to host what appears to be the only site on the planet that serves this content, though possibly still better than Budapest where Nav-N-Go seem to be based.

Maybe I should have researched this better before I bought 😉

Robbo - April 13th, 2008

MPH Display?

Is there any sort of large MPH/Trip data display like the Garmin Nuvi has, other than the small one that is at the bottom right hand corner of the screen?

A larger digital speedometer would be nice to have, if I am just driving around not needing the GPS routing function.

Thanks!

Dr. Drew - April 13th, 2008

Just bought the IPAQ 312 from a reseller in Melbourne. First thing I did was to go and find any updates. As reported by others, it is a long process. So I have only updated some voices for now. Will see how it goes.
One disappointment is that there is no New Zealand maps. I thought New Zealand is a small part of Australia and had hope that they would put that in as well. Bugger.

BChau - April 14th, 2008

Correct Robbo,

I heard that the servers were in Europe. There were problems that delays the deployment a week or so.

Now that you have explained the complicated path, I see where the issue lies. It seems that NavNgo introduced the complexity with the on-line authentication process and the need to be hopping back and forth. Combined with all that, there seems to be technical networking issues that make the process inefficient as implemented.

HP would have been better off sending out DVDs with authenication codes. In the end it would appear to be cheaper and simpler to do that than this frustrating online exercise!

I am impressed with your cyber sleuthing skills!

infama - April 14th, 2008

Typo: were problems that delayed the deployment a week or so.

infama - April 14th, 2008

There will be another release for Europe soon with the 2007.10 maps and HP is working on a different update method than content manager so you can download it without device connected.

infama - April 14th, 2008

Well, left the download running overnight, it reported all completed successfully this morning – now the unit is toast – application fails to start, offers me the option of reset to factory defaults but that doesn’t help – just get the white ‘hp screen’ then the blue screen briefly then bang – repeatedly. Tried reset, tried removing battery – no luck.

Robbo - April 14th, 2008

After various attemts, over the course of days, and an online tech chat with HP it is confirmed, my second unit is toast also.

Funny thing is I haven’t heard of anybody having success with the update and I’ve had 2 of 2 fail on me, yet HP tech support is still toeing the company line saying that they haven’t heard of any problems with the update. It would be nice if they would yank the update until it’s properly tested, or at least fess up and issue a warning saving their customers from ruining there units.

BTW, the full system back up won’t save your unit either.

I’m returning mine tonight. The HP’s feature set has spoiled the Garmin for me, and I don’t really need a GPS. So I will probably check back here once in a while and see if HP has got their $hit together, I would still consider getting another 310 if they can sort things out. On the other hand SiRF’s new prima chip should make devices like this more plentiful and give consumers a selection of multimedia capable gps’s. Hopefully the shopping will be better in a half a year or so.

Good luck to all of you who don’t have the option of returning your 310’s and have to deal with HP to de-brick your units.

Tony - April 14th, 2008

Tony:
Sorry to hear that – theres only one service agent in our country, a short 900km drive from me, so plenty of expense ahead mailing the unit back and forth.
If you can answer a couple of questions, might help save some more trouble here:
– were the symptoms you saw as I described above?
– did the content manager and removable drive support still work (they do for me, unit still goes into the sync screen when I attach it to USB and content manager still seems to ‘work’
– sounds like you tried the backup and restore, that was my plan when the unit gets back (I havent sent it yet)
– I get the impression if they fix the firmware that I could just ‘wait’ and do the next update to fix it.
– I tried the factory settings reset also, but that didnt work (didnt make it worse either). NOTE TO ANYONE READING: ENGINEERING MODE IS DANGEROUS!!!!!
– what happened when you tried the backup and restore? I just did a backup and it saved over 800MB of stuff to my laptop, of course my ipaq is already broken so not much use.

NOTE FOR ENGINEERING MODE: ENGINEERING MODE IS DANGEROUS, MISUSE WILL BRICK/TOAST/DESTROY YOUR IPAQ! To enter engineering mode, press and hold the scroll wheel and then press reset, keep holding the scroll wheel while the RUU rom download screen displays and a few seconds later the engineering mode menu displays with 13 options numbered 1-12 then 0 I tried option 10 “Restore registry to default value” but this made no difference. NOTE THE SCROLL WHEEL IS USED TO NAVIGATE AND IT ISN’T THAT EXACT – DON’T SELECT OPTION 11! IF UNSURE – SIMPLY POWER OFF
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Robbo - April 14th, 2008

I am seeing the same white HP screen with occasional blue IPAQ screen after the update.

HP is sending me a box to send back the unit for diagnosis. Tech support told me it will take 5-7 business days for me to have it back repaired. He also said this model has limited user access to troubleshooting and if soft-reset doesn’t work, the unit has to be sent to HP.
Though this "hassle" is something I would have liked to avoid, at least I’m glad to get a good support from HP.

snapback - April 14th, 2008

Tony,

Several people have had success, I suspect the majority. I had no problem with the update, except the length of time. I went thru first time with no hitch. It may have helped that I am in Europe, close to the Servers?

However, I agree the failure rate is outrageous. HP has a financial incentive to fix this, as Cust Service costs must be killing them.

I am surprised that Engineering mode (choice 10) does not work. Whatever the update is doing to brick the machines must be equivalent to option 11, and so would need to be returned to restore the ROM.

The new update tool is promised for 3-4 weeks and will be sorely needed (see my post above). They will need it to patch the new problems of dealing with Contacts that cause a reboot.

I cant help but think that half of the problem is the relationship with NavNgo. They are the ones writing the updated firmware (you see it in the copyright info). Since they have lost Mio, HP has become a more critical partner for them, and they have a vested interest in keeping HP viable in the GPS game. HP needs to demand MORE and lean on them more heavily for improvements. As Robbo showed in the back and forth Server fiasco, NavNGo was involved in the authentication process and made it more cumbersome. Totally unacceptable.

infama - April 15th, 2008

interested in estatblishing if waypoints can be entered and retrieved for return trip e.g. when hiking or flying

D.A.E.CHARTER - April 16th, 2008

Yes, there is a tracklog function.

infama - April 16th, 2008

I am having a hard time deciding between the 310 & nuvi 660. I want the multipule destinations that the 310 offers, but am worried about the issues above. Any advice? I can get a 310 for under $250 shipped. Also would any of you pro’s have any cons on a refurbished unit?

Rob - April 16th, 2008

Rob,

If you need a workhorse of traffic feature, the go with the nuvi.

If you want tons more features, are not a GPS novice and willing to tinker and do modifications to maximize the potential of the HP, then go that route instead.

You have to evaluate what is important to you in a GPS. They all work well, but have different pros and cons.

I love the HP (great fun), but we all are different.

infama - April 17th, 2008

Robbo: my symptoms were exactly as you described. With the unable to load application error and default options.

Robbo & Infama: This morning I was confused when the microSD card for my phone was reported as full when I tried to add some files to it. Upon further inspection I found a folder labeled iPAQ on my microSD card. It appears that the HP content manager does not distinguish between removable drives and attempted to update the firmware on the microSD card instead.
Now I don’t know if I had the microSD card in my computer or in the unit when it killed my 310’s, but I’m almost tempted to go back and buy another one just to re-try it (with out any SD inserted).

If a few more people have some success updating I would sure like to know about it.

So with that being said I will issue this warning.
DO NOT ATTEMPT AN UPDATE WITH A SD CARD INSERTED.

Many people on the Forum have done the update with varying degrees of difficulty.

infama - April 17th, 2008

Well a nuvi that I can afford does not allow but one waypiont at a time. For a new job I have I would need to enter 10 the night before and be done with it for the day. I don’t need the traffic reports and all. The updating problems with the HP is the only con I see so far. What is your opinion on refurbished?

Rob - April 17th, 2008

Anyone considering this unit – really, its not bad. The update method and the *apparent* failure rate of updates seems to have a major level of suckage right at this time, but you’d have to be fair and take a step back and say this is really a first-gen of the next-gen unit, great screen, tons of features, works well, lots of cpu grunt (handy when you are doing lots of route recalcs and other stuff).

Am I annoyed at the software update problems – sure – but you get that, and infama seems to have an inside track on the fact that HP know that as well and are addressing it.

I’ll reserve judgment on the software update side for a little longer, its definitely something HP need to sort, but similarly I’m sure they will …

Robbo - April 18th, 2008

Rob – Refurbished – I would never touch it. As for the firmware download, well, it worked well for some, not so well for others. If you like the 310, that firmware update glitch wouldn’t be a showstopper for me. Eventually, HP will get its act together.

Uncle Ben - April 18th, 2008

Rob,

Well, a Refurbished unit may have 1 less problem than a new one ;o)
On the other hand, it carries much shorter warranty. HP is sending back the repaired unit to me today, only 2 days after they had picked it up. They even used Same-Day shipping. Even if the problem was due to the firmware update,I doubt HP would do this if the warranty had expired.

So I would recommend buying it new. It is a fun unit, you can enjoy so many unbeatable features at a reasonable price.

snapback - April 18th, 2008

Thanks for the input. Is there a site that anyone would recomend to buy from? My biggest concern is being able to return it if it does not work out for me.

Rob - April 18th, 2008

Have the unit for about a week now. The GPS function works well. AS for the media playback, does anyone know how to set it to play video full screen?

BChau - April 19th, 2008

BChau – no setting. When you play your video and you’re looking at it on the small screen to the right, just tap on the screen.

Uncle Ben - April 19th, 2008

I wouldn’t touch refurbished – 12 months warranty is worth the extra (probably, I guess it depends how much extra, but …). It might also be worth considering what they call a carepaq, for extended warranty or accidental damage, might also make the service come to you but I haven’t checked that.

Re where to buy from – can be a big problem these days. Faceless websites operating from warehouses or garages with less overhead often provide a better price, and *sometimes* provide excellent service. Of course, being able to walk in to a store and up to a counter and discuss your anguish with a sympathetic and helpful store employee who’s only concern is customer service isnt always how things happen either! That said, I still think the safest and probably cheapest (after the sale) option is to by from a big chain store – they typically do returns and the person you deal with is less likely to feel its their money that is being handed back. They probably aren’t the cheapest, but its that difference in price that you are potentially trading off against your sanity, or in my case, whats left of it.

Also check what the HP warranty offers you – in some countries it is your responsibility to get the unit back to HP even if that is 3000km away (which it could be for some in this country, only one service centre) and you are responsible for the packing and insurance. Others here have given the impression HP has sent them a box to collect it in, and of course either way you might live close to the service centre so it might be no issue. Just pays to find out where it is and what the terms of service are.

Robbo - April 20th, 2008

“…Others here have given the impression HP has sent them a box to collect it…” That was no impression but based on facts. I assumed that if HP was doing this for me and others that the same policy applied to all. But you may have a point … in some cases/countries, that policy may not apply and the owner would find out soon enough when contacting HP support.

Uncle Ben - April 21st, 2008

In Australia, the customer is responsible for the packing, shipping and insurance to return the unit to the (only) service centre, located in Sydney. If you live in Sydney you can drop it off. If you live on the north west cape, it’s probably 50$ in registered shipping and a fortnight wait …
I think the warranty probably varies in each country.

Robbo - April 21st, 2008

In Australia, the customer is responsible for the packing, shipping and insurance to return the unit to the (only) service centre, located in Sydney. If you live in Sydney you can drop it off. If you live on the north west cape, it’s probably 50 bucks in registered shipping and a fortnight wait …
I think the warranty probably varies in each country.

Robbo - April 21st, 2008

The content manager fix is being pushed out to servers later today, so should be tomorrow for real live. It will upgrade CM and provide re-install to customers that installed prior. That fixes the contacts issue.

SD card maps have apparently been released from the factory so it is up to the individual countries to make them available. Unsure when they will make it on the stores, but shouldn’t be much longer, is my guess.

The other bugs and issues are being checked out with a view to working on them.

The iPaq is based on Windows CE, not Windows Mobile, but that should make no difference for phone connectivity.

Infama - April 24th, 2008

I’ve read the comments posted but see nothing with regards to the Bluetooth-enabled phone function. When use it, I hear so-so (not loud enough) but I’m told that folks can bearly hear me. Has anyone experienced a similar problem?

John - April 24th, 2008

John: yes – works with my nokia fine, people hear ,e but I cant get the volume high enough. I’ve got an external GPS antenna so I can mount the unit near the rear view mirror closer to me ears makes it better, but still not super loud …

Robbo - April 24th, 2008

Having used the unit for about 1 week now, I noticed that battery charging using the USB cable connected to my laptop takes forever. Nothing wrong with the cable as I can charge reasonably fast with the wall adapter or the car charger. Somehow, not enough power is coming from the USB port of my laptop. A bit strange as I can charge my windows mobile phone using the same cable and the USB port from my laptop.

Another observation is that I cannot group the songs based on artist, artist/album, etc.. Indeed the Group by… function isn’t working.

Apart from that everything is working pretty well. The TTS (Katie) is quite good.

BChau - April 24th, 2008

@BChau: The GPS device draws a lot more power than your mobile phone … any way, there is nothing wrong with you 310 or the cable, that’s the way it is. It will charge via your laptop, but it’s very slow. As for your other points, when you download your MP3 to SD card or 310 Memory, it’s up to you to categorize them by artist, or album, by filing songs in separate folders as you see fit. Then, on the 310, using Media Directories, you can select which folders you want to include in your media session – which can be one album, or all albums from the one artists, or all albums … you have full control over what you can include in your session. That MultiMedia Directories functionality is the most user friendly interface, so it takes a little while to get used to it, but it works, and it works well. HTH! Cheers!

Uncle Ben - April 24th, 2008

Uncle Ben, thanks for your replies. Really apprecriate your help in this community. It helps newbies like me a lot.

BChau - April 25th, 2008

@BChau – Thanks! And you’re welcome, that’s what uncles are for! LOL

Uncle Ben - April 26th, 2008

Is there anyone who owns an iPaq 310 that can answer this question?

Is there any sort of large MPH/Trip data display like the Garmin Nuvi has, other than the small one that is at the bottom right hand corner of the screen?

A larger digital speedometer would be nice to have, if I am just driving around not needing the GPS routing function.

Thanks!

Dr. Drew - April 26th, 2008

Dr. Drew – Nope, not on the 310! But I agree, that would be a nice feature to have if the speedometer on your car is no longer functioning properly.

But honestly, I’d rather have some other, more useful data in that LARGE field. For example, the 310 will give you a big arrow in the left hand corner of your screen, indicative of the direction of your next turn. Now that, to me, is a very helpful feature to have, and one that you won’t find on the Garmin 7xx series. If you read Tim’s review here, he too liked it a lot, and for just cause! Hope this helps!

Uncle Ben - April 27th, 2008

Uncle Ben: one feature that would really be nice is an update program that works. My content manager downloaded another update of itself Thursday night, and 42 hours later when all the other updates finally finished, with multiple copy failures – more problems that I wont go into here. I just cant imagine how anyone could consider the update speed to be even close to acceptable.
One of the failures though which might help someone – disk full. The culprit – c:\documents and settings\\Application Data\hp.com\Content Manager\Log\cm.log – a number of GB’s of logfile !!

Robbo - April 27th, 2008

above – after documents and settings, your xp username between the consecutive \\’s … (my post was the victim of a non-specific attempt by the comment auditing to remove alleged html markup 😉 )

Robbo - April 27th, 2008

Dr Drew,

What you ask for is possible in the Enhanced Full Screen modification developed by Roeka over at the iPaq 310 customization thread at http://www.gpspassion.com.

I have done it myself and it works!

Robbo,

Apparently, HP will shortly release an improved Update tool, which will allow for updates WITHOUT the device having to be connected to the PC during the download process. I am not sure, but I think this will also include the much anticipated Device Recovery Pack, which should enable users to restore the ROM?registry files back to default settings in case of a mishap.

@Robbo: “One of the failures though which might help someone – disk full. The culprit – c:\documents and settings\\Application Data\hp.com\Content Manager\Log\cm.log – a number of GB’s of logfile !!”

You know what, you may be on to something here and that might explain why my DL worked only after I uninstalled CM from my desktop, deleted the HP directory completely, DL a fresh copy of CM from ipaq.com, and proceeded from there.

Dr Drew – Many hacks and modifications have been found to work quite well, apparently … Just make sure to read the READ ME first post on the gpspassion link quoted above; and the terms of your warranty before you venture in.

I am anxious too to try out some of these modifications but I’m reluctant to do so until HP has a clear user-friendly path to recovery in the event that I inadvertently render my device inoperable.

Many users have either bricked their devices with these mods or developed problems down the road that nothing would cure, except returning the device to HP Support for repair.

Uncle Ben - April 28th, 2008

Can you please explain this? Not sure I am getting what is being said.

“@Robbo: “One of the failures though which might help someone – disk full. The culprit – c:\documents and settings\\Application Data\hp.com\Content Manager\Log\cm.log – a number of GB’s of logfile !!”

You know what, you may be on to something here and that might explain why my DL worked only after I uninstalled CM from my desktop, deleted the HP directory completely, DL a fresh copy of CM from ipaq.com, and proceeded from there.”

Infama - April 28th, 2008

Will the 310 be able to download maps for hiking. Off road type stuff that you would ordinarily use a heldheld for?

Tony - May 2nd, 2008

Not by any official means, Tony.

Tim - May 2nd, 2008

Tony,

Only if you install OziExplorer.

inf - May 3rd, 2008

@infama: I was just pointing out that the directory I referenced had an enormous logfile therein – cm.log – tens of millions of lines of text, literally! somewhat more chatty than I would think was useful, and by grepping out two commonly repeated lines I can reduce this to a mere 3500 lines of relatively useful looking logfile – still indicating lots of errors though.

It will be interesting to see if there is any improvement in the software – its not HP software, I wonder whether there is some contractual thing limiting the distribution of the updates. One thing is for certain, if they cant fix the update speed, then the product is effectively dead in the water.

Robbo - May 5th, 2008

Hi Robbo,

I agree with what you are saying.

I did nt have that many lines in my log file, so maybe, that is why I had less problems.

I am located near France, where the servers are.

Yes, NavNgo is mucking up the process. It is their software…nearly identical to what is shippeed with iGo8, just look at the CM manual on their website!

Hey, folks. If you have general pre-purchase type questions or want to post a review, feel free to do that here.

Otherwise if you want to discuss the latest updates, mods, etc I’d take Infama’s suggestion and move those conversations over to the HP forums here. Thanks!

Tim - May 6th, 2008

I keep reading complaints about the speaker volume being to low. Do you know if HP has done anything to address this issue?

Steve - May 6th, 2008

Tim,
If I understand it correctly, European map/maps are now available.
Is it one per country or region, or is all of Europe covered. I am primarily intersted in Scandinavia, and the sum of cost of 310 + European map v.s. cost of TT 920 will be crucial to purcasing decision.
Thanks,
Roar

Roar - May 7th, 2008

@tim: “if you want to discuss the latest updates…”

The lack or otherwise of *any* updates that address the significant issues raised above is probably directly relevant to people in pre-purchase phase. Significantly, when (if) the situation changes and it is actually possible to reliably and repeatably update the unit (and in a timeframe even approaching ‘reasonable’), this will certainly be of interest to people in pre-purchase phase. Whether people will pick up the point in this page that they need to go to another page to find out whether these issues have been fixed is questionable, especially with so many entries.

@Steve: volume? no. Only solution I found was to buy an external antenna and mount the GPS much closer to me at the top of the windscreen, but I *suspect* volume control is hardware limited.

Robbo - May 7th, 2008

The lack or otherwise of *any* updates that address the significant issues raised above is probably directly relevant to people in pre-purchase phase.

I agree. They can find out here that there are issues, and then go read about them in more detail and participate in the conversation over in the forums. There is simply too much information to just include everything on this one page.

Tim - May 7th, 2008

Robbo,

The update problem has been solved with the recent bandwidth increase. The whole DL process is only averaging 2 hours for all the people who reported doing it….AND there is no longer any crashes in the process requiring a start over. Didnt you click on the link to the announcement I made above??

Updating is no longer a problem…unfortunately I didnt benefit as I did it the hard way. LoL

infama - May 8th, 2008

Hi all. I am thinking of buying the 314 model (I’m in the UK) as it is only £135 with cashback promotion. I want to use it when I am out on my motorbike and I get lost. I need something small to keep in my pocket that I can use headphones with or put in a tankbag, and this sounds like the perfect device. will it access the satellites while in a shirt pocket? Also what movie formats can be played on the device as I like the idea of watching movies on it.
Thanks

Andrew - May 10th, 2008

@Andrew: Yes, you will get satellite connection while in a shirt pocket. As for the movie format, some folks have had success with AVI … the only format that works for me is WMV.

Uncle Ben - May 10th, 2008

Well I bought one and it is very nice (even plays avi files). However I can’t work out how to get it to warn me of speed cameras. I have enabled the safety camera setting but I have driven past a couple with no warning at all. My manual says that the camera POI’s are installed but I can’t find them in with all the other POI’s. Anyone know what to do?

Andrew - May 17th, 2008

@Andrew: Speed cameras are only available in Europe. If you go on ipaq.com/navigate, you’ll see that the only POI/Speed Cameras file available is for Europe – Speed Cam POIs are illegal in the U.S. and Canada.

Uncle Ben - May 17th, 2008

Hi Ben. I am in Europe (UK to be exact)So do I have to download them seperately

Andrew - May 17th, 2008

Yes Andrew, you have to download them separately on the ipaq.com/navigate web site. Once you’re signed on, click on [Maps & Updates], and then on [POI & Speed Cams.]

Uncle Ben - May 18th, 2008

Thanks Ben. Found the link to where I get the European speed cams. Had to get a code to use but they sent it to me no problem.

One final problem I have though. Do you know if it is possible to reinstall missing files from the OS. While I was trying to install TCPMP (which didn’t work btw) I accidentally deleted the file that handles video playback. The file is exevideoplayer.exe and lives in the OS directory. Anyway now I can’t play back any video files at all, even standard wmv files that I could before I screwed up. I just get the red line through the player screen. I don’t know what to do to fix this.

I’m told I can get the file back by letting Content Manager just reinstall it. The problem I have is that CM seems to think that there are no files to install ie my Ipaq is up to date. How do I force CM to reinstall the application? I really hope someone can help me out as I want to be able to get my video funtion back.

Andrew - May 19th, 2008

ANYWHERE MAP AVIATION NOW HAS THIS UNIT OUT WITH THEIR AVIATION SOFTWARE ALSO RUNNING IN IT. SO NOW YOU CAN GO FLYING TOO! ANYWHEREMAP.COM DOES THIS UNIT ALSO HAVE HAWAII IN IT AS PART OF THE NORTH AMERICA (USA) DATA.

DENNIS - May 20th, 2008

Hi,
I bought the 310 last week, I like it so much, I tried to do the update and my system couldnt’ reboot back, i’m so lucky a friend of mine has the same device, so I copied back all the files from his to mine and it’s working now. My question is how can you set up text to speech street names? thanks.

moe - May 28th, 2008

Moe – Yes, it’s always a good idea to do a full backup prior any new firmware update. For text-to-speech, you have to select a TTS voice in Settings – Regional.

Uncle Ben - May 29th, 2008

Sometime ago, someone asked whether this unit has a backtrack feature. Unfortunately, no one responded. I’ll ask again: so if I’m out on a nameless dirt road, meandering around and I get lost, can I easily find my way back?

Paul Boyce - May 29th, 2008

It was not answered probably because questions such as this one are better dealt with from within the forums; reserving this space for folks who want to comment on the review and add their own comments to relate their experience with the device.

If I recall, that question did come up from in the forums, not specifcally about the 310 but another device, a Garmin NUVI if my memory serves me well.

In any case, the short answer to your question is NO, there’s no backtrack. You can leave a breadcrumbs trail and use that to trace your movement back your starting point; but there is no automatatic feature where the GPS would automatically reverse the route, and guide you turn-by-turn back to your starting point, following the exact same route as the one you took to get there.

Uncle Ben - May 29th, 2008

The review gave me more information than I could find in the box or the HP web site. I still cannot find the stylus (out of the top – where?). Do I need an SD card to load music or can I connect to my Itunes on my PC. Maybe I’m slow, but getting started with this thing has been really tough.

Mel Farber - June 1st, 2008

Mel – the stylus is located at the rear, top left-hand corner – just lift it out with your fingernail. You can load MP3s in memory, the number of files depends on how much memory you have left. You can also use an SD Card – the 310 will find your MP3s wherever they are, in memory and on SD Card. You can use the [Media Directories] functionality (Settings from the Main Menu) to specify which directories you want the 310 to scan for media files. You’re not slow – the 310 is not an easy device to learn. But if you’ve read the reviews prior to buying it, then I’m sure this comes as no surprise. My advice – be patient and stick with it. It’s a very nice device IMHO.

Uncle Ben - June 1st, 2008

What is the status of Western European maps for the 310? This question comes often on different forum. I understand that maps seem to be available from ipaqchoice in UK. Is it possible to buy them in North America? Will the SD card contains the same exact maps as if I had bought an iPAQ 314?

Penny Lane - June 3rd, 2008

Penny – same question on availability of european maps in the US. Hope somebody will answer positively soon. In case we can get both US and EU maps, can they reside on the same card? I would prefer not to swap cards and lose one of them.

Gianlu - June 5th, 2008

I have a hard time to understand marketing people at HP. They make European maps available… in Europe. The iPAQ is released since 7 months or so and I see things moving slowly. Wonder whether HP is really serious in that market.

Penny Lane - June 5th, 2008

I have one 310 in the box which I never opened because I did not know if HP will fix all its problems. I still do not know if this is a dead (end) product and sell it or use it. Has the last HP update really fix something and what has not been fixed? Are there any future HP updates that might fix any current bugs? I do not mind waiting longer if I know HP will fix all the problems. What is the general point of view about all this? Keep it and hope or sell it?

Dan - June 6th, 2008

Many of these questions are better addressed on the main HP forum. The 310 has had 2 major upgrades and most problems have been fixed. A few minor ones remain or have surfaced, but HP promises to address them. The unit is now ready fro primetime and is the most interesting device out there.

Regarding maps, ipaqchoice site is not HP. Europe is divided in 2 regions, east and west, so there is real interest in Europe for the maps from the “other” half of the continent. ipaqchoice does price in $ and ships to the US, so that is not a problem.

The reason for “single” maps on SD card is not because of HP, rather its a stipulation of the software owner…NavnGo!

infama - June 8th, 2008

Does anyone know if this is compatible with Tomtom navigator 6 software?
This is absolutely crucial for me, it’s the only thing thats stopping me from buying it right now!

muo - June 9th, 2008

Hi Am very interested in this product, but have been put of by reviews. The reviews state it is sluggish and the text to voice is painful (excess hiss and a woman who sounds like she has a bagfull of marbles). Have these two issues been resolved by the software updates? I always worry when a new product is heavily discounted and have found this item at £90 (UK Sterling after cash back). Is this an indication that its obselecence is imminent?

William - June 11th, 2008

The ipaq works with TomTom, but only up to version 6.01.

Will,
90gbp is a great price!

If this machine becomes obsolete, it will only be by HP! The hardware specs are still far ahead of the competition. It is faster than before and now very stable!

TTS is a bit improved with the update, but people have discovered mods that make this a non-issue now. If you buy one, send me a PM.

infama - June 12th, 2008

When I display my map as 2D the pointer(blue arrow) shows horizantally when i’m driving. How can I fix that? Thanks.

moe - June 16th, 2008

I have to say the HP customer service is really good. I tried some mod with the iPaq 312 and messed it up big time. It wouldn’t boot up, not even with hard reset. I called HP and they asked me to send it in and promptly reflashed and updated the unit for me. Received the next day.